RFC 1149

IP over Avian Carriers is a very real and serious proposal defined in RFC 1149, published in 1990. It describes transmitting Internet Protocol (IP) packets using homing pigeons as the physical transport medium.

Overview

The protocol defines a method of sending IPv4 datagrams by physically transporting data using pigeons. Each bird acts as a carrier for network packets between nodes in a system.

How it works

• IP packets are encoded into a physical form such as paper or storage media.
• The payload is attached to a homing pigeon.
• The pigeon is released and flies to the destination node.
• The recipient extracts the packet and processes it at the IP layer.

Characteristics

• Latency: Very high (minutes to hours depending on distance)
• Bandwidth: Very low (limited by number of available carriers)
• Packet loss: High risk due to environmental factors
• Jitter: Unpredictable delivery times
• Reliability: Variable, improved with redundancy (multiple pigeons per packet)

Advantages

• Works without electronic infrastructure
• Can operate in environments where electronic communication is unavailable or disrupted
• Physically isolated transport medium

Limitations

• Extremely slow compared to conventional networking
• High probability of packet loss
• Limited payload size per carrier
• Not scalable for modern network traffic (so they say..)
• Prone to interruptions from buckshot or 12. gauge

Status

• Classified as an experimental and humorous protocol
• Extended in RFC 2549 with real world improvements to QoS and security
• Not YET used in real-world production networks

Summary

IP over Avian Carriers demonstrates how network abstractions can be mapped onto unconventional physical transport layers, highlighting both the flexibility of the IP model and the practical limitations of real-world communication systems.